A DAUNTING CHALLENGE
by Hidden Gems
Summary: 17 year old Uzumaki Kayaku is set what could be his biggest challenge so far: becoming Hatake Kakashi's sensei.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: Naruto is the property of its creator, Kishimoto Masashi, and various companies that publish it. We all know I'm not making any money out of this; just playing with the characters for a while.

**A/N**: I decided to use the name "Uzumaki Kayaku" for Yondaime because I'm not clever enough to get away without a name. Kayaku -- just like Arashi before it -- is the latest fandom speculation and I must say I quite like it. As for Uzumaki, well I'm convinced he and Naruto are father and son. If you don't agree with that, I'm sorry. Try to ignore it, I think I only mention it once.

* * *

Kayaku suddenly opened his eyes and sat up, ready to swear that he'd just heard an explosion. His mind still clouded up with sleep, he collapsed back on his pillow and lay flat on his bed, throwing both arms over his face to shield away the unwanted sunlight. But once his brain registered the screams outside, the young jounin felt awake in a spilt second. The protective instincts he had developed as a shinobi kicked in and he jumped out of bed and went straight to the window. His voice died in his throat as he laid eyes on the scene.

A giant frog stood in the street, looking rather uncomfortably squashed between the two rows of buildings.

He sensed a presence to his right and rolled his eyes when he discovered his sensei sitting on the roof beside him. He'd started doing it way too often these days.

"Jiraiya-sensei, do you _really_ need the frog?"

The older man smirked. "He helps make an entrance. And between you and me, although they might not admit it right away, the ladies _love_ it!" he added with a wide grin, waving casually at a few female passers-by.

Kayaku sighed. "Sensei…"

Jiraiya snapped back to his serious self almost instantly and stared at him. "The Third wants to see you."

"Me?"

"Do you see anybody else standing here? Of course, you! He sent me to tell you."

"When is he expecting me?"

"As soon as you can get there, I imagine. Have a shower, get dressed and I'll see you in his office!" he shouted before jumping back on the frog's head.

It took one massive leap and disappeared behind the buildings, after which Kayaku heard more people screaming. He really couldn't understand why his sensei relied on it so often, when he thought the summoning technique was only to be used when in need of immediate help.

Twenty minutes later, he was walking down the corridor towards the Hokage's office when he saw Jiraiya waiting by the door, leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest.

"So, what's this all—"

"The Third was called away barely five minutes ago; you were too slow," Jiraiya interrupted. "He asked me to explain everything to you, so come on, let's go and have breakfast somewhere."

Kayaku didn't move and looked at his sensei incredulously. This was starting to feel like a bad joke and he wasn't in the mood for it. But he followed him eventually, thinking that he might be able to get free breakfast from it if nothing else. He told himself repeatedly to be patient, but after they'd sat down in the restaurant—having walked all the way in _complete_ silence—he'd had enough.

"Are you actually going to tell me what this is all about, Sensei?"

"I thought I'd taught you not to be impatient."

"You have. But you've never woken me up like that before, telling me the Third wants to see me, and then dragging me to a restaurant instead without much of an explanation at all!"

Jiraiya smirked.

"Am I being sent on another mission? I've just come back from six days abroad; I thought I'd have at least one day off."

"It's not exactly a mission."

They were interrupted when a young waitress brought their breakfasts. She giggled and blushed profusely when Jiraiya winked at her. Kayaku rolled his eyes and propped his chin on his hand. He should have been used to it after all these years, but he still found it annoying, especially when he was waiting for answers.

"Do you think you might tell me any time soon, Sensei?" he grunted when Jiraiya looked as though he was about to start eating.

"All right…" the older man sighed. He put his chopsticks down and looked at Kayaku intently. "Have you heard of Hatake Kakashi?"

The young man's eyes narrowed and he cocked his head to the side ever so slightly as he searched through his mind.

"Hatake…Kakashi?" He paused for a second. "Oh, err…he's White Fang's only son, isn't he? His mother died a few years ago and I seem to remember hearing that he was a rather gifted little boy."

"You could say that," said Jiraiya, looking amused.

"So, what's that got to do with me?"

"He graduated from the academy yesterday."

Kayaku was taken aback and fell silent for a few seconds. "I…must have had him confused with somebody else then; I thought he was _much_ younger than that."

"He's five years old."

The older man did his best not to laugh at the look on his student's bewildered face.

"Is this some kind of joke?"

"Do I honestly look like I'm joking? If I wanted to tell you a joke, I'd have said—"

"Sensei…" Kayaku groaned.

"OK, forget it. You wouldn't have liked that one anyway…" He sighed and propped his elbow on the table. "The fact is that the boy graduated with flying colours yesterday afternoon."

"A five-year old genin…" Kayaku whispered to himself after another pause. "He's got to be the youngest one."

"He is," said Jiraiya in a matter-of-fact way, as though it really wasn't anything special at all.

"What's the Third thinking? This is insane!"

"That's not for you to decide or even comment on," Jiraiya warned.

He hadn't been scolded by his sensei that many times in all the years they'd spend together, so he felt ashamed and looked down.

"But once again, Sensei," he said at length, "what's that got to do with me?"

"When kids graduate from the academy and become genin, they are split into groups of three and a jounin instructor is assigned to each group."

"I know that. That's how I ended up with you," Kayaku replied, softening up a little.

"Hey, watch your mouth, you brat! Anyway, as you know, our military power isn't doing too good at the moment and it's a bit of a miracle that we had enough jounin this year. But then that kid comes along…"

"What do you mean? Is it really that bad? All the teams are formed and you're left with one?"

"Precisely."

"Then send him back. He's way too young! You know how it works: most of them will have to go back anyway."

"Believe me; that kid isn't going back."

Kayaku sighed and propped his chin on his hand again. "You know, Sensei, I still have no idea why you're telling me about this."

The smirked returned to Jiraiya's face. "I'll put you out of your misery then, shall I? All right, no more beating around the bush. _You_ are the answer to the problem."

"Uh? Me? What do you m—"

Something clicked and his eyes suddenly opened wide.

Jiraiya's smirk almost stretched from one ear to the other. "You get it now?"

"You…can't be serious…" Kayaku stammered. "Sensei, I'm too young to have my own team!"

"It's not a team, it's just one kid. Deem yourself lucky; it'll be the perfect opportunity to get used to looking after someone."

"Lucky! Looking after White Fang's son?"

Jiraiya frowned. "You're not going to decline, are you?"

Kayaku looked down, feeling he would have liked nothing better than to hide his face in his hands at that very moment, or better, disappear. "Sensei, I don't think I can do this."

"Of course you can! Even though we don't actually have a choice, you're the best one out there and that kid's really lucky, if you ask me."

"But…I can't be given such responsibility."

"Even if you're a precocious one, you're a jounin, aren't you? You knew this day would come."

"Not so soon, no. And…besides, I'm still _your_ student!"

Jiraiya laughed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Oh come on, you know the student thing comes to an end when you become a jounin. I should have forced you to stop calling me Sensei ages ago!"

Kayaku knew that Jiraiya's words were meant to comfort him and boost his confidence, but he couldn't help feeling more anxious than before.

"Look, I understand that the idea of being in charge of _that_ kid is daunting, to say the least, but like I said before, it's only one kid. Kayaku," he added, touching the young man's arm, "I've known you for a long time now, and I know you can do this."

Feeling something akin to panic overwhelming him, the young jounin finally hid his face in his hands for a moment, taking deep breaths in.

His words were muffled when he finally spoke. "I don't have a choice, do I?"

"M'afraid not."

"And the Third thinks I can do it?"

"As do I."

"I have a feeling I'm going to hate you for this, Sensei."

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time you've say that," Jiraiya sighed. "The best are always the most hated. It is, alas, our fate…" he added in a most melodramatic tone.

Kayaku rolled his eyes. "How long have I got?"

"One week. And if you have any questions about how it goes, you know who to ask!"

"But you didn't do anything!" the young man immediately protested. "All we did was introduce ourselves. You didn't even let us show you our skills until the following day with those stupid bells!"

"That's the way it's done. Everybody goes through bell training. The little chat beforehand is just to start off the team spirit, hopefully, by letting the others know a little about you."

Kayaku blinked a few times in a row. "You never told me you went through bell training."

"Oh, I did…" the older man said with an embarrassed smile. "Anyway, eat up, I haven't got all day."


	2. Chapter 2

A week later, in the early afternoon, Kayaku walked down the corridors of the academy. He hadn't set foot in the building for years and had always thought he wouldn't have to until he was at least past his twentieth birthday. Instinctively remembering the way, he let his footsteps take him to the second floor and paused in front of the door. Taking one last deep breath, he grabbed the handle, carefully slid the door open and peered inside the classroom.

It was deserted but for a young boy sitting at the front row who didn't flinch and was obviously waiting for him.

_He's so small…_

Kayaku opened the door wider, took a step inside and cleared his throat.

"Are you Hatake Kakashi?" he asked.

The boy crossed his arms over his chest. "Shouldn't you know that?"

_Answering a question with another question. And he's only five…_

"I was trying to be polite," he said with an uncomfortable smile. "It's called introducing yourself."

"Then why are you asking for _my_ name?"

_I knew I shouldn't have let Jiraiya-sensei drag me into this…_

Kayaku closed his eyes very briefly. He had to stay calm; it was only one small boy over ten years his junior. Taking one more deep breath, he walked further into the room.

"My name is Uzumaki Kayaku and, as you most probably know, I'm going to be your sensei from now on."

_Then again, maybe not…_

The small boy eyed him in silence for a few seconds, which in truth felt more like minutes.

"Aren't you too young to be a jounin?"

Kayaku smiled, suddenly feeling his confidence grow. "Aren't _you_ too young to be a genin?" he asked in return, raising an eyebrow.

Young Hatake Kakashi obviously found that he couldn't think of another question to follow that one and let out something akin to a slight chuckle.

"They call me a genius."

"I'm sure they've got good reasons to."

There was a pause, but it didn't last long.

"So how old were _you_ when you graduated?"

Kayaku swallowed hard. He could feel another blow coming fast. "I was ten. I was already precocious but you're setting new standards."

"I wonder how long it will take me before I'm stronger than you. I bet I can take the chunnin exam this year."

_And modest with that!_

Letting out the sort of neutral sound he always made when he didn't exactly wish to reply, Kayaku tried to plan what he could talk about next. He let his eyes wander over the small boy sitting in front of him. The messy silvery hair made him look like a miniature version of Sakumo, which in itself was rather unsettling. Kayaku didn't personally know the older shinobi but they'd stood in the same room more than once and there was something about the man that commanded immediate respect. His son seemed to have inherited virtually everything from his father and the expression in his eyes wasn't that of a regular five-year old.

But then again, Kayaku had known all along that Hatake Kakashi wasn't a _regular five-year old_.

Perhaps the most striking thing about his appearance was the mask that covered the lower part of his face. It wasn't the first time he'd seen a shinobi wearing one—he had, for instance, never seen Sakumo's lower face—but they'd always been adults. On a child, it felt simply disturbing. And the fact that his forehead protector was clearly too big for him did nothing to help. This child was too young to be a shinobi and nothing would make Kayaku change his mind about it.

"So, what's…with the mask?" he ventured.

"None of your business," Kakashi replied icily.

Kayaku felt his last shred of determination snap with a loud bang. It couldn't have been more than a few minutes since he'd opened the door, but he really didn't see how it would ever work.

_Jiraiya-sensei, Hokage-sama, I'm sorry…_

"Stay here," he said, taking one step towards the door. "I'll be right back."

Without waiting to see whether Kakashi was going to reply or even react, Kayaku turned around, walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. On the way towards the entrance of the building, he came across a fellow jounin.

"Hey, do you happen to know where I can find the Third or Jiraiya-sama?" he asked him.

"The Third went back to his office, and I think your sensei's with him. But…shouldn't you be with your student?"

"I'm working on it…" Kayaku said between gritted teeth, resuming his walk down the corridor.

He'd hoped he wouldn't have to go that far since he'd told Kakashi he wouldn't be gone for long. He hated having to rush through the streets of Konoha so he made his way across the rooftops instead. Once he was close enough to the building, he got back on the ground and slowed down to a jog down the corridors.

When he burst through the doors without warning—something he'd never done before—all eyes turned to him and he felt extremely foolish. Jiraiya's eyebrows shot upwards, but the Third didn't appear to take any notice of him at first. He finished handing a mission to the shinobi facing him.

"Good luck."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama."

Once the man had gone, the Third slowly turned his gaze towards Kayaku, cocking his head to the side ever so slightly.

Not waiting for either of them to ask what he was doing there instead of at the academy, the young man took a few steps towards the centre of the room. "Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-sensei, I'm sorry but I can't. You were wrong. I can't do it!"

"What are you talking about?" the Hokage asked slowly.

"Having a student, having _that_ kid as a student. I'm too young and I don't have the skills required."

Jiraiya interrupted him, frowning. "Kayaku, if I think you're ready for something, you know you can trust me."

"But I can't even have a decent conversation with him! I was in there for no more than a few minutes before I knew it wouldn't work. How am I supposed to teach him anything if I can't even _talk_ to him!"

Standing in the middle of the room, panting, arms outstretched, Kayaku was far beyond feeling foolish. He didn't care anymore.

"Kayaku," Jiraiya said, shaking his head, "you're overreacting."

The young man withheld his sensei's gaze for a short while, before letting his shoulders drop. "Sensei, Hokage-sama, this time you've overestimated me. I can't do this."

The Third frowned and cleared his throat. "So what do you expect us to do? I'm sure Jiraiya explained the situation to you. All the other jounin have their three-man teams. Are we supposed to send that boy back to the academy? How do you expect us to break the news to his father?"

"I'm sorry but I don't have the answers to your questions. All I know is that I cannot look after this boy, or any other genin for that matter. I'm too young! I know I was the youngest jounin of my generation, but it doesn't mean I'm ready for this. Most of the others are in their twenties when they're first assigned a team."

"This would be the first time I see you fail something," Jiraiya pointed out.

Kayaku and looked down. "I'm sorry, Sensei…"

The older men stared at him in silence, obviously wondering what to do, when the doors suddenly opened again.

"Please, don't!" said a small voice.

Kayaku whirled around and opened his eyes wide when he saw his student standing on the threshold.

_Oh great… Now it's perfect!_

"Kakashi," he said as firmly as he could, "I asked you to stay where you were!"

"You said you wouldn't be long. But I knew you'd come here. I could tell."

Kayaku sighed and sent the other two a pleading look.

_See?_

"Hokage-sama," Kakashi called while bowing, after taking a few steps into the room so he was level with Kayaku, "may I speak?"

The old man smiled kindly. "Of course you can."

There was a pause, after which Kakashi's words were barely more than a whisper.

"I'm sorry I offended you…"

Kayaku rolled his eyes, crossed his arms and looked to the side. Only then did he finally register that Kakashi's apology was directed at him, and not at the Hokage.

"Uh?"

"I wanted to…test you, see how you'd react. I didn't mean to be arrogant. I know you don't have a choice but please give me a second chance, _Sensei_."

Saying so, he turned towards Kayaku and dropped to his knees.

Such a change of behaviour took the young man by surprise and he was momentarily left speechless. He slowly glanced from the small boy to Jiraiya, who smiled and shrugged. Kayaku knew only too well what he meant by that.

The smile on the Third's face grew wider. "What is your decision then, Uzumaki-san?"

The young man let out a sigh. A smile stretched his lips. "I'm sorry I wasted your time, Hokage-sama," he said, bowing. Then he turned around and walked towards the door. "Come on, Kakashi, let's go."

The boy suddenly got back to his feet, eyebrows shooting upwards. He quickly looked at the two older men and, probably deeming it safer not to say anything, left the room behind his newly appointed sensei.


	3. Chapter 3

Once they were standing outside, the young jounin stared silently at the small boy standing beside him.

His student.

_That's it, you can't escape anymore._

When his stomach grumbled loudly, he gave a sheepish smile.

"Hey, do you mind stopping for something to eat? I didn't have time to grab any lunch…"

That was a complete lie. He had been so nervous that he hadn't managed to swallow anything for breakfast or lunch. There was no way Kakashi could know.

"'kay," the boy shrugged.

They walked to one of Kayaku's favourite restaurants—he'd tried them all—and sat down at a small table a little way away from the others. When asked what they wanted to order, Kayaku chose a portion of his favourite ramen dish without even looking at the menu and some tea.

"What do you want?" he then asked Kakashi.

"Err, I'm OK."

"That's not what I asked."

"I don't need anything."

Kayaku smiled. "I know you don't, but do you _want_ anything?"

"I'm not hungry, honest."

"Do you like tea?"

"Yes, but I'm not thirsty."

Kayaku sighed and the waiter left.

Once they were alone again, he considered his student once more. He knew that most shinobi who wore masks did so in order to protect their identity, to a certain extent, but he really found it unsettling for a five-year old to do so. This wasn't a mission and they weren't enemies. He was the boy's sensei. Surely, he should be one of the few people Kakashi wouldn't feel obliged to hide from. Shouldn't he?

The young boy was still and silent, his eyes locked on an invisible spot on the wooden table. This was supposed to be some sort of informal talk—which Kayaku had thought would help—and the boy didn't look relaxed at all.

"I was thinking," Kayaku started, "about something you said earlier on. You said you wanted to _test_ me. Honestly, I can't see what in my reaction qualifies as passing that test…"

Kakashi looked even more uneasy and shifted a little. "You're not…like the others," he said quietly. "You could have reacted differently; you could have shouted, told me off for my bad manners, mentioned my mother—"

Kayaku frowned. "Your mother? Why would I do that?"

"I don't know," Kakashi replied with a small shrug. "Some people do. They say it doesn't excuse my behaviour."

Kayaku was about to protest when the waiter brought his order so he remained quiet for a few more seconds. He stared longingly at the bowl in front of him, doing his best not to jump avidly on it. Kakashi was talking and he could feel this was important and shouldn't be missed, even for the best ramen in town.

"When did…your mother die?" he ventured, expecting the boy to snap at him and tell him it was none of his business again.

The answer came almost instantly.

"Three years ago. But I don't remember; Father told me."

Kayaku leaned over the table. Kakashi was only two when his mother died. He couldn't have a single memory of her.

"Well I would never say anything like that."

"I said you were different."

It puzzled Kayaku not to be able to see the expression on the boy's face. All he could see were his eyes and Kakashi wasn't letting anything show.

"I'm sorry I reacted the way I did. It can't have given you a very good impression… I promise I'm better than that," he said with a chuckle.

"I didn't give you a good impression either. I had to make it up because I…I didn't want any other jounin to look after me."

"What do you mean?"

"I know a lot about you, Sensei. Father told me."

Kayaku froze for a second. "Your father talked about _me_?"

"Oh yes! After the Third said he'd decided you'd be my sensei, Father talked about you a lot."

Kayaku felt himself blushing.

_White Fang Hatake Sakumo, talking about me?_

"He said you were without a doubt on your way to become one of the best shinobi from Konoha. As well as being the youngest jounin in a long time, which is quite an achievement," he said, clearly reciting his father's words. "He also said people had started calling you…_Yellow Flash_? Is that true?"

This time, Kayaku clearly felt the flush spreading across his cheeks. Especially because of the way Kakashi was now looking at him; it was almost a look of admiration and he couldn't take it.

Jiraiya had been the first to use that stupid nickname and it had unfortunately caught on. The young man had always thought nicknames like that were for legendary heroes—such as Kakashi's father or the three Sannin—not some seventeen-year old boy proving to be faster than the average shinobi.

"Well, yes…" he answered, scratching his head uncomfortably. "But I wouldn't take too much notice if I were you."

"I'm sure they have very good reasons to," said Kakashi.

Kayaku couldn't help smiling when he realised the boy had just echoed some of his own words.

"You also asked about my mask and I was very rude."

"Nah, that's all right! It probably is none of my business."

"Not, it's not right. You're my sensei and I've got to answer your questions. It's part of the rules."

Kayaku started feeling uneasy again. It wasn't right for a five-year old to start talking about rules.

"Kakashi, really, it's—"

"It's a tradition," the young boy interrupted. "To wear that mask."

"In your family?"

Kakashi nodded. "We can start wearing it when we becoming shinobi."

"So that's why your father wears one too?"

Again, Kakashi nodded.

"Well thank you very much for telling me, Kakashi-kun."

Without warning, Kakashi's gaze became an intent glare. Kayaku swallowed hard.

"Maybe we'll leave it at Kakashi, yeah?" he said sheepishly.

The meal didn't take long, considering the fact that he was starving and that Kakashi was far from talkative. After he'd finally paid, the young jounin stood up and stretched. He remembered the conversation with Jiraiya about starting off team spirit and bell training the following day and shrugged.

That was all right for _regular_ teams.

"So…" he said with a grin. "I've heard from you how great you supposedly are, but why don't we make our way to the training grounds so you can _show_ me, eh?"

The expression in Kakashi's eyes changed almost instantly and Kayaku recognised the flame of excitement burning in them. The five-year old child suddenly seemed to have come to life as he stood up at once and almost ran to the door. And from the way the fabric of his mask had appeared to tighten across his lips, Kayaku guessed the boy might actually have been smiling.

Several hours later, unharmed but very much impressed, the young jounin-turned-sensei slowly made his way back to his apartment. When he got there, he didn't even bother to take his vest of shoes off and collapsed on his bed. The day had partly been a disaster and he knew he'd probably just been set his biggest challenge so far. And considering all the things he'd been through since graduating from the academy himself, that was indeed a daunting prospect…

But there was no way he would have it any differently now.

THE END


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